Do You Want a Greener, Cleaner Beit Shemesh?

This school year Leshomra’s “Our Little Farm” program is running in over 70 Charedi classrooms around Israel. But we’re already thinking about the next school year – 2017/18. We want to expand our program to many more classrooms and more locations. One of our main goals is Beit Shemesh.

Since we launched Leshomra, we’ve received requests from parents, teachers, and city officials all over Israel to bring our programs to their town and school. By far the most requests have come from Beit Shemesh. Beit Shemesh is a fast-growing city with a lot of natural beauty and history which many of the residents wish to conserve. The rapidly expanding neighborhoods are densely populated and most of the children don’t have much contact with nature or appreciation for the environment. They’re missing out on the therapeutic and educational benefits in a big way.

It’s no wonder that problems of littering and damage of public areas are widespread.

Some people throw up their hands in despair.

Others point the finger and get upset.

Others, like you and me, know that it’s all just a matter of education. No one is born with the value of taking responsibility for their environment. It’s our job to make this awareness a part of the culture.

This is where Leshomra comes in.

This picture was taken last month at a Beis Yaakov kindergarten in Ramot, Jerusalem. The girls are watching the crane lower the soil for their own Leshomra mini-farm. We want to take this photo in Beit Shemesh ASAP.

In response to the demand, we want to bring our classroom-tested, rabbinically approved “Our Little Farm” green education program to a pilot group of Beis Yaakovs, Talmud Torahs and kindergartens in Beit Shemesh in 2017. We’re already hard at work behind the scenes: meetings with local officials; lobbying government ministers; filling out lots of forms; and… of course, fundraising, fundraising, fundraising.

Did I mention fundraising?

We need to raise the money to offer at least matching funds to the local authorities if we want this program launched any time soon. Matching funds is what allowed us to rapidly launch our program in Jerusalem, Bnei Barak and Modi’in Illit. Beit Shemesh is the same story.

You are the one who will create a greener, cleaner Beit Shemesh!

How?

Make a donation, spread the word, or help us make progress with local authorities and decision makers.